Amalgamator



D. FEIT.

AMALGAMATOR.

(NoModeL) Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

DANIEL FEIT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,569, dated March 3, 1896. Application filed December 9, 1895. Serial 50. 571,566. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL FEIT, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State v of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to hydrostatic plate amalgamators; and its novelty and advantages will be fully understood from the following description and claim, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a'vert-ical transverse section of my improved amalgamator. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view illustrating the manner in which the silvered or amalgamated plates are connected to the heads of the wheel, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modification.

Referring by letter to said drawings, A indicates the casing of my improved amalgamator, which is preferably elongated, as shown, and is provided in one side at about the elevation shown with the induction-opening a, and in its opposite side at a lower point with the eduction-opening b. I

B indicates the flume or trough for condu cting the pulp and water which comes from a stamping-mill into the amalgamator, and 0 indicates the concave bottom of the amalgamator, which is provided at intervals in its length with riffles D, as better shown in Fig. 1. These riffles D are amalgamated or silveredthat is to say, plated with quicksilverand they are designed to catch or gather the gold from the pulp and water as it passes over the same.

E indicates the wheel of the amalgamator, which is designed to be rotated at a speed of about thirty rotations per minute, and is designed and adapted to collect the float-gold in the pulp and water within the casing A. This wheel E may be of any suitable construction that falls within the scope of my invention; but I prefer to have it comprise the shaft 0, which is journaled in the end walls of the casing A and has one of its ends extended outside the casing to receive a pulley d; the heads e, which are preferably of a circular form and are fixed on the shaft 0; the outer circular series of inwardly-extending perforated lugs, f, which are arranged in pairs adjacent to the peripheries of the heads or end plates and are preferably disposed as illustrated; the inner circular series of lugs, g, which are similar to the lugs f, and are preferably arranged in pairs alternately with the pairs of lugs f, as better shown in Fig. 1; the outer longitudinal blades, h, which are of right-angle or approximately right-angle form in cross-section and are connected at their ends by bolts or rivets to the lugs f on the heads e, and the inner longitudinal blades, 1', which are similar in form to the blades h, and are connected at their ends by bolts or rivets to the lugs 9 upon the heads or end plates, as shown.

The blades h t' are amalgamated or silveredthat is to say, plated with silverpreferably on their inner and outer sides, as indicated by lc,although when desired, but the outer side maybe amalgamated or silvered; and they are designed and adapted by reason of this to catch and hold the float-gold contained in the pulp and water in the casing A. The blades h 2' are also adapted, by reason of their peculiar form, to serve as pockets, and in virtue of the inner series of blades, 2 being arranged alternately with respect to the outer series of blades, as described, it will be observed that the several blades of the wheel will in turn be brought in line with and 0p posite the induction-opening a in the casing, so as to enable the stream of pulp and water as it enters the casin g to strike in the pockets formed by said blades and thereby materially facilitate the amalgamation of the gold contained in the pulp and water. Again it will be observed that the blades h i, by reason of their peculiar form in cross-section, not only serve as pockets, but each presents a large surface to the pulp and Water and yet offers but a minimum amount of resistance to the rotation of the wheel, and it will be further observed that the inner and outer blades traverse parallel orbits, and that therefore the liability of the floating gold passing through the casing without coming into contact with one of said blades is reduced to a minimum.

In the practical operation of my improved amalgamator I have found that the best results are obtained by rotating the wheel E at a speed of about thirty rotations per. minute; but of course the speed of the wheel, which may be driven by any suitable motor, may be increased or diminished, as desired, to suit existing conditions.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, that notwithstanding the many advantages of my improved amalgamator it is very cheap and simple and does not contain any parts which are likely to get out of order after short use.

In Fig. l- I have shown a modified form of blade 1?, which is of a eoncavoconvex form in cross-section, instead of right-angle form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- In the hydrostatic amalgamator described, the casing having the induction-opening a, in one of its side walls and the eduction-opening 1), in its opposite side wall and also having the concave bottom provided with amalgamated or silvered riffles, and the wheel arranged and adapted to be rotated in the easin g and comprising the heads or end plates having the inner and outer series of pairs of integral, inward1y-extending lugs f, g, the outer series of longitudinal amalgamated or silvered blades arranged between and connected at their ends to the lugs f, of the end plates or heads and the inner series of longitudinal amalgamated 0r silvered blades arranged alternately with respect to the blades of the outer series and arranged between and connected at their ends to the lugs g, of the end plates or heads, all substantially as specilied.

In testimony whereof I affix my gnature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL FEIT. Witnesses:

Gno. T. Knox, ll. .T. LANG. 

